Waiting for the promises

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God. Luke 2: 25 – 28

There was also a prophetess, Anna …. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:  36 – 38.

Once again, we see the missed opportunity for so many people, when Jesus himself was brought to the temple. The religious leaders and priests who lived and worshipped there did not meet him but two elderly, righteous and devout people, who for a long time had been waiting for the Messiah, met their heart’s desire. 

It can be very trying to persevere, sometimes for years, to see what God has promised us but the story of Simeon and Anna encourages us not to give up.  We do not know how long Simeon had been hanging on in faith to see the Messiah but we do know his faith was rewarded.

Anna too had spent most of her adult life worshipping and praying in the temple and she too was not disappointed. She was an old lady, very old by those days, and yet she too got to see the Messiah.

For Jewish people there was no greater joy than to see the long awaited one. Simeon must have been thrilled to know he would see the Messiah and imagine his joy when he was able to take the baby in his arms and bless and prophesy over him and his parents. What a privilege. Anna too was able to pronounce to all who were willing to listen that this baby was indeed the Messiah.

We also may have been waiting for years for some promise from God; the salvation of a relative, our healing, our partner in life, a ministry opportunity and as this year closes may I suggest you go back and look at the words that God has given you in 2012 and maybe in previous years.

Thank him for those that have come to pass and pray over those you have still to see an answer to.  Like Simeon and Anna, some promises we have to wait a long time for but let us reaffirm our faith in God and our trust that He will work all things together for good in his timing. 

Bless you for reading this blog this year and let us go forward into 2013 with renewed enthusiasm for our wonderful God. I pray.. that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God (Colossians 1: 10)

Pride and prejudices

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Matthew 2: 1 – 2

Have you ever asked a question or said something and the minute the words were out of your mouth you realised you had said the wrong thing? Maybe there is an awkward silence or embarrassed looks but you feel really bad and may not even know what it is you have said wrong.

I think the Magi must have experienced this.  They were astrologers probably from modern day Iran and having studied the stars for years they realised that the new star in the sky meant a baby had been born who was King of the Jews. Naturally they had gone to Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people and to King Herod’s palace, assuming he would know all out it.

Having asked the question they could immediately tell from the reaction of their audience that this ‘good news’ was in fact a complete and unwelcome surprise.  Herod was an unstable megalomaniac who murdered a large part of his close family and anyone else who he didn’t like. To tell him that a new king had been born was probably the worst possible thing to say.

Herod realised that the magi were talking about the long promised Messiah so he called the religious leaders to ask them where the baby would be born. They assured him the prophecies spoke of Bethlehem. At this point it is very surprising that if magi from 1000 miles away had taken the trouble to come and worship the king of the Jews, why didn’t even one religious leader want to go to Bethlehem, only 5 miles away, to check out the story?  This was the Messiah – spoken of by the prophets for hundreds of years – and they aren’t even interested?

I assume they didn’t believe the magi because they were Gentiles. They assumed God would speak to them and he hadn’t so the story could not be true.  Of course this assumption played out for the next 33 years. Jesus could not be the Messiah because God had not spoken to them about it. They never believed Jesus was the Messiah and most Jews still do not believe it even today.

We may be confident that Jesus is both our Saviour and the Saviour of the world but it is very easy to miss out on things God is doing because they don’t come at us in the way we expect or God hasn’t spoken directly to us. God will raise up all sorts of unlikely people to do his work and we must be careful not to be so offended by the messenger that we miss the message. I know of situations where people will not listen to a message or prophecy because they do not like the person speaking or they will not receive a healing or miracle because of the person praying for them.

The magi were right and they found Jesus the Messiah. The religious leaders were so full of their own self righteousness that they missed one of the great events of history. It was shepherds and magi who got to see Jesus, the Saviour of the world, and kings and religious leaders who missed it.

Let’s keep humble hearts and be open to what God may be doing. If it is in the Bible, no matter how unlikely, it is God so let us ask him to challenge our pride and prejudices so we don’t miss anything that He is doing.

What can I give him?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3: 16

This Christmas I have heard many people bemoan the fact that they do not know what to get someone for a Christmas present. Worse still is not knowing what to say when someone asks what we would like!

Our loving God has everything because he created it all so what can we possibly give the God who has everything? For some this question might have been as the carol says, ‘What can I give him, poor as I am?’ For others we might say, ‘What can I give him, comfortable as I am?’ This question has been asked every Christmas as we focus on the wonderful gift that God gave us and that is where the answer lies. He gave us himself – God in a tiny baby. Emmanuel – God with us.  So what do we give the God who has everything – we do what he did and give ourselves; that is all God wants and it is the best gift. In our busy lives, God wants us.

However giving of ourselves is what people also desire – more than gifts and nice food – they want us; our love, friendship, time, support, encouragement. There are so many lonely, discouraged, disappointed, hopeless people and what they want is people who care, people who will stand with them, people to encourage them. We can’t do it for everyone but we can do it for someone.

Maybe you are already giving something other than presents today – perhaps serving a Christmas meal to people on their own, taking food to the homeless – have a wonderful Christmas. If you are with family and friends – have a blessed Christmas – but don’t pass up the opportunity to give of yourself today. Especially if there is something that needs to be put right, a phone call that needs to be made, an e mail that needs to be sent, an apology that needs to be made – please do it

This Christmas I expect most of us will give and receive many gifts and I am sure we will also focus on ‘the reason for the season’ but let us also look for an opportunity to give of ourselves to someone who may need an encouraging word, a hug, a smile, some appreciation.

Be blessed this Christmas

People of courage

On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.” Luke 1: 59 – 60

There are some amazingly courageous people in the Christmas story and one of these is Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. God showed great favour to Zechariah and Elizabeth.  Like some other elderly couples in the Bible, God gave them the ability to have a child; no ordinary child either. He would be the forerunner of the Messiah and he would prepare the hearts of the people for his coming.

The angel Gabriel had told Zechariah that his elderly wife would become pregnant and they were to name the baby John. Zechariah though did not believe the angel and as a result was struck dumb. The baby was safely born and on the 8^th day, it was time to circumcise him. This was a special occasion and one where the men did everything; the women might perhaps have been allowed in a corner but would have taken no part in the ceremony.

So with the father unable to speak and mothers not considered, the priests were about to name the baby Zechariah after his father. Elizabeth did a very courageous thing.  She spoke up and contradicted what the priests were about to do by saying that the baby was to be called John. The angel had only spoken to Zechariah about the baby and his name and he must have somehow told Elisabeth. She though was the one who had to bravely tell the gathering.

Everyone was amazed because there was no one called John in the family.  Today with everyone striving to call their children something different with some very strange results, it does not seem particularly unusual but in those days it was extraordinary that Elizabeth would speak up at all and even more so that she would suggest a name that had no family connections.

Thankfully the priests gave her the benefit of the doubt and consulted Zechariah who asked for a writing tablet and he wrote that the baby’s name was to be John. Immediately his tongue was loosed and everyone was amazed.  They knew that it was a miracle that Elizabeth had had a baby but now everyone wondered who the baby might be.  This was no ordinary child.

There was no indication that Zechariah the father was going to intervene in his naming of his child until Elizabeth spoke up. She had to push through the social norms of the day to do the will of God. Elizabeth faced ridicule and disbelief but it was too important not to say anything.

We may find ourselves needing to speak up and say something when no one is asking or even requiring our input. God may ask us to say something that goes completely against the flow of what is normally done. We need not fear; if God is in it, God will confirm it. Like Elizabeth, we must be courageous; the consequences of our silence may be far worse than saying the wrong thing.  Trust God, be brave and say what needs to be said.

 

The heavenly host

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2: 13 – 14

What a night for the shepherds!  Shepherds were well down the social order and whilst not exactly ostracised by society, they were definitely on the fringe, mainly one suspects because they spent so much of their time away from family and friends and probablyfrom  the synagogue looking after their sheep.

Jesus came as the good Shepherd (John 10: 11 ) to save people (his sheep) from their sins.  God seems to love shepherds. Abraham and his family, Moses and David were all shepherds and the last two must have learned a lot about looking after and leading people from their experiences of looking after sheep.  

So it was the shepherds who are chosen for a unique display of heaven’s power and God’s glory. They were terrified by the first angel who appeared and by the ‘glory of the Lord which shone round about him.’  He gave them the good and wonderful news that a baby had been born that would save mankind from their sins and the necessary sign so they could find the baby.

Suddenly!  I love that.  Suddenly heaven rips open and the heavenly host step out to praise God for this auspicious occasion. What else could you possibly have to announce the birth of the Son of God?  It has to be the angelic heavenly host.  What a sight it must have been!

The significance though is as incredible as the event. This baby was not announced by the heavenly host to the religious leaders at the temple in Jerusalem, just 5 miles away, where one might have expected it. No, it was announced to a group of uneducated, poor shepherds out minding their own business, doing their job. 

The significance is that God was announcing that this baby, this Messiah would be for everyone. Time and again Jesus showed that it was not just the religious, the learned, the socially acceptable that he came for but the poor, the marginalised, the hated by society, the tax collectors and sinners. Jesus constantly turned the social norms on their head. He made rough fishermen and tax collectors his disciples. He ate with people like Zacchaeus, he let prostitutes wipe his feet with their tears and hair and he appeared first to a woman after he rose from the dead.

No matter who you are, what your background, social standing, education, marital status, Jesus came for you.  He wants every single one to be not just his friend but his brother. No matter what others may say about you Jesus loves you and came to save you from your sins and in case we are not sure, just remember it was to shepherds, those at the bottom end of the social ladder, that the heavenly host appeared to announce the birth of the Son of God.

Wonderful Counsellor

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

This wonderful prophecy given hundreds of years before the birth of Christ foretells the Son of God coming to earth to save his people.  The Jewish people were expecting a Messiah to come and save them but Isaiah makes plain that this person will be born as a baby.  He will not come down riding on clouds of glory to smite Israel’s’ enemies as portrayed in Psalm 18. He will come as a baby and this wonderful announcement is similar to those given in our newspapers today; a son has been born to – us.  How personal is that? This son is given to – us.

Yet if we doubt that as a baby he will be able to be Messiah then, as in the personal column of a newspaper, his names are given – each one an indication that this baby is actually God and therefore more than able to save his people.  The first name is in itself amazing because the word ‘wonderful’ used here can also be translated ‘beyond understanding’.  Indeed when Samson’s parents ask the angel that foretells Samson’s birth what his name is, he says it is ‘beyond understanding’ or ‘wonderful’ (Judges 13: 17 – 18). 

Jesus is a wonderful or beyond understanding counsellor.  He plans and purposes things that we may well not understand.  Indeed we probably will not understand them unless the wonderful Holy Spirit brings revelation and understanding to us.

I am constantly concerned about how small some people’s God is.  When they cannot understand something about God or his ways, they dismiss it.  Too often people do not have any expectation of God intervening in the affairs of man; God seems distant and disinterested. Some seem to feel that the ways of men will prevail – especially wicked men - over the ways of God.  God is called upon only when other options have failed and then often with no real sense of wondrous anticipation.

However if God really is God then we should not understand most of what he does but if we open our spirits, hearts and minds to him, he will help us grasp things beyond our understanding.  I am just so conscious of how stupid I can be yet I would far rather be that than feel I know what God is doing.  If God is my size, he is pretty small!

Thankfully, the one thing I can be assured of is that God’s ways are wonderful, beyond understanding, incredible, amazing, unbelievable, awesome and every other word that leaves our finite minds gasping in amazement and overwhelmed by God’s manifold wisdom.

Friends let us raise our eyes upwards and be amazed by this ‘Wonderful Counsellor’ and at the same time hold the thought that he loves us more than we will ever know, that he never condemns us especially when we do not understand but rather he takes our hand and leads us into all truth, one step at a time as we trust him. He will enlarge our hearts and minds to comprehend wonders we could never have grasped alone; wonders that truly are beyond understanding.

Significance not prominence

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. Luke 2:8

Looking today at the incredible birth of Jesus, we are overawed by the significance of this event – God becoming man in order to save the world from their sins.  The shepherds too must have realised this was a significant event though I am not at all sure they realised how significant. The heavenly host turning up in glory on their hillside, telling them of a Saviour born in Bethlehem and now lying in a manger, was a good clue though.

In today’s celebrity crazy, instant fame society of ours, it can be easy to get caught up in seeking prominence to give us significance.  Significance often comes though in places with no prominence; those helping the poor and weak of society in the city slums, those fighting for social justice and those in the mission field far away from the glare of media and cameras are often doing incredibly significant things with no prominence at all.

The Christmas story is full of people of no apparent significance or prominence who have gained significance by being obedient to God’s call on their lives.  Mary and Joseph, a poor couple looking forward to being married and having a life of their own in Nazareth are suddenly thrown into the spotlight on the stage of world history by the appearance of Gabriel. Shepherds, out in the fields doing their job, suddenly find themselves chosen to signify God coming to earth for the poor and marginalised of society again by the appearance of angels.

There must have been many unknown people who helped Mary and Joseph during their journey to Bethlehem and with the birth of Jesus – unknown to us but known to God. I am sure Mary, Joseph and God regard them as significant. 

Society seeks prominence and ten minutes of fame to applaud but God wants men, women and children of significance; significant because of obedience to his call on their lives. Mother Teresa gained prominence but I doubt if she particularly wanted it other than to draw attention to the plight of the poor in India.  For those poor people her life was very significant.

Frank Genor was an insignificant man who for 40 years handed out tracts on a street in Sydney, Australia in obedience to God to thank him for his salvation. He had no idea of the effect of this until just before his death when it transpired that literally hundreds of people had come to faith and were serving God all over the world, because of his obedience.

Has anyone ever come up to you to thank you for some kindness of word or deed that you have done that you have no recollection of but was very significant for them? That is the significance of great value to God; being obedient to his prompting to bless others. Fame and prominence are of little value even though highly prized by our societies. Significance through obedience whether we know about it or not is the prize of the Christian.

Born in a stable

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2: 6 – 7

If there is one thing that almost everyone knows about the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus, whether they be Christian or not is that Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger or feeding trough.  They may know little else but stables and mangers are usually remembered.

Various people have commented that Joseph should have been able to find accommodation with his relatives in Bethlehem which would have been the normal thing in those days but that because of the great number of people in Bethlehem for the census, there was no spare room.  The BBC series called The Nativity went further and gave the reason that there was no room was because Mary had become pregnant outside of marriage so Joseph and Mary were ostracised by family and society.

I expect Mary had been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism and unkindness about her baby. It was shocking in those days to become pregnant before marriage but Joseph had honourably still married her and brought her under his protection. However I expect there would have been a lot of knowing looks and comments behind her back if not to her face.

So Mary ended up in a stable or more likely a cave to give birth to the Son of God. I don’t know about you but I would be devastated to have had any of my children born in a stable.  Mary knew who this baby was and for 9 months she had literally had the Son of God growing inside her.  Now at his moment of birth she ended up not in a nice guest room but outside of the family and society with the animals.

However God takes what appears a humiliation of giving birth in a stable and turns it into a sign that makes people wonder. When the angel told the shepherds a Saviour has been born, he identifies the baby as ‘wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ It wasn’t the rich, famous or religious leaders who come to see Jesus but the poor of society and they found the baby because he was in a manger and not comfortable in the guest room of a house.

Today God will take our humble beginnings, our lack of education or broken family, the things that others may consider weak and shameful and turn them into signs of wonder. Jesus used rough, illiterate fishermen to found his church and this too became a sign of wonder. When they (religious leaders) saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Acts 4: 13

Jesus, the Lord of glory, was not diminished by being born in a stable and lowly beginnings do not need to hold us back either. The very fact of his lowly birth is what makes Jesus known today. It may not have been Mary’s ideal place to give birth but the manger became not a shameful but a glorious place because of the presence of the baby born there.  Our circumstances, our lives can also become glorious as the presence of Jesus touches and changes them.

Psalm 3

O Lord how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!

Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him”

 But you are a shield around me, O Lord

You bestow glory on me and lift up my head.

To the Lord I cry aloud and he answers me from his holy hill.

I lie down and sleep. I awake again because you sustain me.

I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side.

Arise O Lord! Deliver me, O my God!

Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.

From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Psalm 3

This psalm was written by David when his son, Absalom, rose up in rebellion to try and take the throne from his father. It was treachery at the highest level; in the family, the court and the nation and David does what David always did – turned to God.

Psalm 3 is such a great encouragement to us when life and the devil comes and attacks us. It gives us a blueprint for how to deal with these assaults. First of all David states the situation; he has many foes rising against him who do not believe God will deliver him.

Then David affirms who God is; his protector, his provider and the lifter of his head – his encourager. He knows God will answer him (that is a wonderful thought to meditate on) and he can even sleep in the midst of all of this because the Lord sustains him and so he will not fear.

Finally David asks God to arise and defeat his enemies. I love the fact that he asks God to strike them on the jaw and break their teeth. If that happens you cannot talk!  It silences the enemy! David concludes that God brings deliverance and asks him to bless the people who will have got all caught up in this.

David did not accept the situation and just lay down and give up but unfortunately that is what many Christians do when they get sick, they face financial, family, work or even church problems. They accept them and give up.  David shows us the better way.

Tell God the problem as you see it. Remind yourself who God is and what he has done and will do. Then ask God to rise up and strike your enemies. We have the victory over all our enemies (who are not flesh and blood) and in Jesus Name we can resist the devil and all his works and he will flee.

God gave David strategy to defeat Absalom’s rebellion and he will do the same for us. Do not let circumstances overwhelm you; turn to God and he will arise on your behalf as you use the authority that Jesus won for us on the cross. God is our deliver and always acts on our behalf as we trust him.

David and Jonathan 2

“Do not be afraid,” he (Jonathan) said, “my father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You shall be king over Israel and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” The two of them made a covenant before the Lord. Then Jonathan went home but David remained at Horesh. I Samuel 23: 17 – 18
Jonathan would have made a much better king than Saul. He knew that a king of Israel ruled under the kingship of the Lord. He knew that battles were won because the Lord fought them and gave you victory. The only reason he did not become king was because of his father’s disobedience and foolish mistakes (13: 13 – 14). He knew his father’s kingship was doomed after Saul did not follow the Lord’s instructions when fighting the Amalekites (15: 28).

Jonathan fought bravely for the Lord and the Israelites and had great victories and was popular with the men (14:45). He supported David and spoke well of him to Saul even when Saul was trying to kill David.  He made a covenant with David before the Lord on several occasions.  He was committed to David but his loyalties must have been divided and I think this lead to one great mistake.

In the verses above Jonathan told David that he would be king – even Saul knew that – and he would be second to him. Jonathan was quite right; I am sure that was God’s plan but look what happened – Jonathan went home- he didn’t stay with David to work out the call of God on his life. The tragedy is that they never saw one another again and Jonathan died by his father’s side. He was meant to be second to David but having been loyal to David all through the difficult times, at this moment instead of staying with David, he went home.  He knew God’s plan, he committed himself to both God and David by making a covenant with David before the Lord but a false sense of loyalty took him in the wrong direction and he went home back to Saul and later died with him. He never fulfilled God’s plan for his life.
A false sense of loyalty can keep us in the wrong place too. It is important to know when to move on, when God is doing a new thing and how to go with it. Someone told me once they knew they were in the wrong church but it was too difficult to leave – so they stayed and were not fulfilling what God had planned for their lives.

Some people move church or ministry far too often and some do not move when they should. We need to be aware of when God is moving on and calling us to move too and not get stuck in situations that will neither fulfil our destinies nor bring God’s life to us. False loyalty can be a burdensome thing but if we remember that our first loyalty is to the Lord, he will guide us to the right places, churches and ministries in his timing.

 

David and Jonathan

And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.  I Samuel 18: 3

I love the story of David and Jonathan because it is all about two young men who loved God more than anything else and wanted to serve him as best they could.

When Saul was king, before David was on the scene, Jonathan understood something that Saul never understood which was that the Lord was the one who fought for his people and it was the Lord who won the battles (14:6). When Jonathan went out to fight, he went out in that knowledge and had success because of it.

When David defeated Goliath and Saul took him into his army, Jonathan made this covenant almost certainly knowing that David’s success would mean he would not inherit the kingdom from his father. Jonathan stood up for David in the face of Saul’s insane attacks on David’s life. He risked his own life to support David (20:33) and consistently helped David to be aware of Saul’s murderous plans and to help him escape from them.

It takes a great man of God to stand by and help someone who will take the role that should have been theirs.  Jonathan should have succeeded Saul as king and yet instead of siding with his father and trying to overthrow and kill the one who was going to take his place, he actively supported David. One of my favourite verses is ‘Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in the Lord (I Samuel 23: 16). How we all need people who will not just give us sympathy but will help us find strength from God in our times of need.

I wonder if David would have been able to keep going and trust God to help him do what was right in the face of severe provocation from Saul if Jonathan had not been there for him. How difficult it must have been to know that God had anointed him king and yet he had to wait for God’s timing even whilst the present king was trying to kill him. Jonathan’s strength, commitment and loyalty to David must have been of inestimable comfort and encouragement to him.

Too often our main concern is our life, our ministry, our church and yet God may be calling us to support, strengthen and encourage someone whose success may appear to be to our detriment. Yet in the Kingdom, we need never fear that. If we are fulfilling God’s plans for our life, we will always be successful even if we are not prominent. Too often people confuse success with prominence. Success in the Kingdom is measured by obedience; are we doing what God wants us to do and that may mean supporting someone else and making them successful.

We are called to serve – God and other people both Christians and those in the world. We need never fear other people’s success; rather we should rejoice in it knowing that God holds our destiny in his hands and we can trust him to bring his success to our lives.

Breaking limited mindsets

Show me your ways O Lord; teach me your paths

Guide me in your truths and teach me, for you are God my Saviour and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25: 4 – 5

One thing I have noticed recently is that when we are learning something new and trying to assimilate some new information, we always try and place it within our existing frame of reference; by which I mean our existing body of information and experiences. This is fine until we find the framework inadequate for the task. For instance I would be unable to place information on the law of thermodynamics within the limited framework of my Primary School science knowledge.

When this happens we can either try to adapt the knowledge till it does fit or discard it as incompatible at this time. Unfortunately this can happen with our knowledge of God and reading the Bible.  We read something that just does not make sense to us or fit in with our present thinking so we either try and adapt the truth or discard it.

I know I have read some bits in the Bible which I really don’t like so I may discard them. Giving out of lack is a good example. My frame of reference says giving out of lack leads to greater lack. However these verses from Psalm 25 show us the better way. When faced with uncomfortable truths we need not let our frame of reference hinder us but rather ask God to expand it to incorporate things we have previously found too hard to include. Alternatively we can hang the truth on the frame for further consideration and meditation. I now know that giving out of lack or plenty leads to greater blessing than we can imagine.

God has so much to share with us and so many wonderful truths to reveal to willing hearts and minds but we must not limit ourselves.  God is so patient but our world needs the wisdom of God revealed through lives that are ready to open their minds and spirits to truths from the throne of heaven.

One area that has challenged me is the area of healing. We know God is our healer yet we walk in so little of that reality. Our hand stretches for the pain relief for headache before we even think to pray. I want to see healing as part of my and the Church’s everyday life not an occasional occurrence. Both Jesus and the disciples walked in amazing healing miracles and so I want that to be part of life – without excuse.

I want to encourage us that if there is an area of Godly truth or revelation that you really want to see God move in, do not let your frame of reference hinder or deter you. Rather ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and show you his ways so that we may see the breakthroughs we long for. God has so much in store for us and the world needs Christians prepared to break out of traditional and limited mindsets and break into fresh truth to bless them.

 

The praying church

Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labour. Jeremiah 22: 13

‘Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?’ declares the Lord.   ‘But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.’ Jeremiah 22: 16 - 17

When we returned to South Africa last month, there was a definite feeling that things had got worse in the nation. I was always quite optimistic about South Africa believing that the relatively smooth transition to black majority rule between 1990 and 1994 was an indicator that South Africa would not go the way of so many African countries.  Now it feels like there is an inexorable slide towards ever increasing violence, strikes such as those in the mining sector, racism and corruption.  The ANC seems to have little regard for the welfare of the people especially the poor.  Social unrest with violence has flared up everywhere, even in the relatively peaceful Western Cape which is not governed by ANC. 

The reason can perhaps be found in the fact that in January to celebrate 100 years of ANC, the party dedicated the nation to their ancestors. Now Christians from all over the country are rising up in prayer and repentance to God. Last Saturday Christians from all denominations were invited to a prayer meeting in the centre of Cape Town to dedicate the Western Cape to the Lord. There are other prayer initiatives all over the country culminating in a national prayer meeting on December 2^nd in Pretoria. As the organisers say, ‘2012 began with the ANC dedicating the nation to its ancestors. May this year end with millions of Christians calling out to God in repentance & prayer to forgive our sins and heal our nation.’

The Bible makes it clear that God is greatly concerned about injustice, oppression, unrighteousness and society’s attitude towards the weak and disadvantaged.  God does not want us taking advantage of others but wants society to look after the poor, needy and those unable to look after themselves. The church is called to lead the way.  All nations have the disadvantaged and there is injustice and unrighteousness in even the most sophisticated democracies. Family breakdown, divorce, abortion, greed, selfishness, corruption and so on are apparent everywhere not just in the less developed nations.

Only God can turn a nation around and the church is the answer to any nation’s needs – not the government and politicians.  Self interest and the need to be re-elected always seems to turn even the best politicians and parties from the path of selfless service to the nation.  The church however is called to serve the nation in which it is placed.  Christians are called to pray for their leaders and bless them unto righteousness.  Prayer is the weapon by which we wage war against unrighteousness, extortion, injustice, corruption, greed and selfishness.

Our nations are facing huge problems at this time and they desperately need a praying church. The people especially the weak and poor need righteous leaders supported in prayer by the church to help them. Our leaders need wisdom, knowledge and insight to solve some of the huge problems they are facing and these will come through a praying church.

 Let us rise up in prayer that God’s Kingdom will come on earth in our nations as it is in heaven. 

 

Stand firm against the enemy

The following blog in no way condones the Anglo / Zulu war nor supports either side. It is merely used as an example of how we must fight our enemy.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world … Ephesians 6: 12

Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand Ephesians 6: 13

I have just visited the site of the battle of Rorke’s Drift fought in South Africa between the Zulus and British in 1879. It was made famous by the film Zulu starring Michael Caine. A small band of British soldiers fought against a large number of Zulus and won mainly because of two mistakes made by the inexperienced Zulus.  The British fought bravely and 11 Victorian Crosses, the highest military honour, were awarded that day. As the British started to face the Zulus, realising they were heavily outnumbered, the clergyman Reverend George Smith allegedly said to them, ‘Fire straight men and the Lord will do the rest.’

The well known verses above from Ephesians tell us how to fight our enemy. Paul first all reminds us who the enemy is and he exhorts us to put on our armour. Then three times he tells us to stand.  We know from James 4: 7 that we must resist the devil and he will flee from us. I Peter 5:9 tells us to resist the devil and stand firm in the faith. We cannot resist him by lying down and giving in nor by running away. Some men at Rorke’s Drift wanted to run away but were firmly told that way was a certain defeat. They must stand and fight – so must we.

The devil is a defeated enemy but he is not lying down yet. He will do all he can to drive division and discord between the brethren. We in turn must recognise his lies and deception, stand firm and fight back.  

Paul tells us we have both armour and weapons. The armour represents wearing both what Christ has done for us and our character and integrity.  The best way to fight darkness is with light. We are told to’ live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth)’ Ephesians 5: 8 – 9. Light always overcomes darkness. If we live in righteousness and truth bearing the fruit of the spirit the devil does not have a foothold into our lives.

We have a shield of faith which we can put up to extinguish the enemy’s lies and most important we have the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. This is the most powerful weapon there is. By declaring the truth of God’s Word it exposes the lies. The light of truth overcomes the darkness of lies, discouragement, disappointment and depression.

Too often Christians let the devil walk all over them accepting his sickness, poverty, marriage and family difficulties instead of fighting back with the Word of God and standing in faith that what God says  is true.  We must wear our armour with confidence, put up our shields of faith and declare God’s word as a sharp sword over the works of the enemy in our lives, homes and families. Finally having done everything we must stand.

Stand firm, declare the Word and the Lord will do the rest.

 

Dealing with cynicism

Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.  Ephesians 5: 8 – 10

From Ephesians 4: 17, through chapter 5 to chapter 6: 9, Paul urges the Ephesians into Godly living. His teaching is very specific, comprehensive and practical and is a wonderful if rather challenging exhortation of how to live. Only some of Jesus’ teaching is even more challenging.

Ephesus was a major centre of commerce with flourishing temple worship to the Roman goddess Diana so the Christians in Ephesus had a lot to contend with. This must be why Paul gave them so much advice on how to live right in the midst of idolatry and a Godless society.  The problems we face in our societies today may not have much to do with worshipping Diana but the challenges are just as real and difficult for the modern day Christian. We too must live as children of the light in our Godless societies and it can be very hard.

In UK one of the major obstacles to Godly living, very prevalent in society is cynicism. Cynicism is ‘an inclination to question whether something will happen or whether it is worthwhile.’ Cynicism’s first cousin is scepticism which doubts the truth of something. Cynics tend to look down on the kind of advice Paul gave the Ephesians with a certain amount of derision. People feel it is not worthwhile to live the sort of life Paul was talking about in today’s culture; there is nothing in it for them. Cynics doubt people’s motives so if Christians are kind, loving, generous, merciful and so on cynics are sceptical about why they are doing it. 

Cynicism though is also prevalent in the church and people extravagant in worship or giving or who are enthusiastic about God and his love are viewed very cautiously and as ‘over the top.’ The same love, kindness, grace and mercy are viewed suspiciously as ‘too good to be true’ but that is exactly what God is – too good, kind, generous, loving, and merciful to be true except it is true!

Cynicism and scepticism like unbelief need to be rooted out of our lives. Cynics find it very hard to trust God and to believe that he wants good things for his children because for a cynic there is always an ulterior motive – God must want something so what is this going to cost me and so doubt clouds their minds. However we know the full price for salvation, forgiveness and a life of love was paid by Jesus on the cross and all we need is to walk by faith – hard if you are a sceptic.

The solution is to put out arms of love and trust to God, declaring and believing that what he has said is true and so silence cynicism and scepticism with words of life and faith.

Pleasing God

Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11: 6

I want to please God.  However this is not because I am fearful of displeasing Him. I’m not. If we are worried about displeasing God, it is usually because we fear punishment when we get things wrong but God is not going to punish us even if we are disobedient.  All the punishment for our sin was taken by Jesus on the cross. We do not have to fear it any longer. 

For sure - disobedience hampers our relationship with God but it does not terminate it even temporarily.  God does not want us to walk in sin and he will do all he can to help us repent and ask for forgiveness but not because he is waiting to punish us but because sin is harmful to us and our relationship with him.

Despite all their shortcomings, the only time Jesus even rebuked the disciples was after he had risen from the dead and then it was ‘for their lack of faith and stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen’ (Mark 16: 14). The next reported words though were ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.’ In order for them to do this effectively they needed to believe that he had risen from the dead. Their unbelief was stopping this happening.

Unbelief is the greatest hindrance to a powerful, effective Kingdom life because it robs us of faith.  Faith pleases God so to walk with God by faith, we must let God do whatever is necessary to root out unbelief in our lives. 

 Unbelief makes God measure up to our experience and understanding.  If I can reason and understand all that God is doing, he is very small indeed. I am resolved that I will not let my Christian life depend on my experience but on what the Word of God says. If my experience does not measure up then it has to change not the Word of God. If I pray for the sick and they are not healed, then I must persevere till they are, not give up.

Years ago we were not seeing the breakthrough in our finances that we believed the Word of God promises us. We took our wallets, cheque book, cards, bank statements and prayed over them breaking the hold of lack, insufficiency and debt in our lives and calling forth the promised blessings of God. There was not an instantaneous break through but there was a change and we gradually started to prosper. We made our experience line up with the Word of God not vice versa.

I know I have hardly started to experience even a tiny fraction of some of the things in the Bible but I must persevere till I do. I must resist the temptation to give up when it becomes hard and instead carry on till I get the victory. 

I want to please God and so I must walk by faith.

Grace to be gracious

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need Hebrews 4: 16.

Grace means we do not get what we deserve.  We do not deserve God’s love yet by his love and grace he brought us salvation from the wages of sin which is death. Instead of the death we deserved, we were given the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. That in itself is amazing but God continues to pour out grace upon us in our continuing weakness and sin. The verse above assures us of that.  The power of sin has been broken in our lives once we have accepted Jesus’ salvation but we still battle sin in the ongoing work of sanctification. Grace is given to help us in our weaknesses and to get victory over sin. Grace gives us the second and third chance that we do not deserve.

The problem though is that whilst God continues to show us grace, we have great difficulty showing that same grace to others. Have you ever wanted to sort out someone else’s life and sin? Have you ever wanted God to give them what their sin deserved especially if they have hurt you? Have you ever felt they were ‘lucky’ not to get what you felt they deserved?  This is where God wants us to extend the same grace to others that he has given us.  Forgiveness is the greatest expression of grace; God’s forgiveness to us and our forgiveness to others.

Jesus is ‘full of grace and truth’ John 1: 14 and always showed grace to sinners. The only people Jesus got angry with were the religious leaders who were full of unbelief and stubbornly refused to acknowledge the Messiah in their midst. Sinners such as Zacchaeus, the woman caught in adultery, the man whose friends let him down through the roof of the house, prostitutes and tax gathers were all treated with grace and turned from their sin. They were not treated as the Law demanded but with grace and love and consequently they had their sins forgiven, much to the disgust of the religious leaders. They didn’t deserve forgiveness but by grace they got it.   

We too were treated with grace when Jesus reached down to us in love and forgave us our sins. We need to ask God to help us to deal with people in grace just as Jesus does. The world is full of sinners who do not need to be told what they are – they know that – what they need is people filled with the love of God and grace to take them by the hand and bring them to Jesus where they will find the love and mercy they need. People do not need our condemnation and criticism no matter what a mess they have made of their lives. We have been shown grace – let us go and show that same grace to others.

Grace in our strengths

For it is by grace you have been saved.  Ephesians 2: 8

I became a servant of this Gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Ephesians 3: 8

We are all very familiar with the fact that we are saved by grace; there is nothing we can do to save ourselves – it is all the work of God and we rejoice in this. However grace is so much more than the key to our salvation which unlocks the door to eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Grace not only saves us but enables us to ‘do the good works which God prepared in advance for us to do’ Ephesians 2: 10.  I think there can be a tendency to do the things we are good at in our own strength and then ask for God’s grace to help us in our weaknesses. We know when Paul was battling with his ‘thorn in the flesh’ he found that ‘God’s grace was sufficient for him, for God’s power is made perfect in weakness’ II Cor 12: 9.  However I also believe we need God’s grace to help us in our strengths.

Paul makes plain that he was a great Jew before his conversion and was faultless in legalistic righteousness (Philippians 3: 6).  He knew the law and he persecuted anyone who didn’t keep the law especially these new followers of the Way.  There was no grace! When Jesus met with Paul on the road to Damascus, he didn’t just save him by grace but he used him to write and preach such profound truths that Christians today are still poring over the Scriptures trying to fully understand the revelation that Jesus gave him. The Scriptures were his area of strength before his salvation, yet God’s grace touched this and transformed it into something that Paul could never have attained in his own strength and studies.

God has prepared wonderful works for us to do but we need his grace to touch our lives and transform them in order to do these works for his glory.  Many Christians I know who are used greatly by the Lord, just wonder at what he does through them. They say things such as, ‘I just and stand and watch what God is doing and am amazed.’ It is not false modesty but a genuine sense of wonder that God uses them even in their strengths and the result is something far greater than anything they could do. Their participation is vital but the outcome is divine.

God’s grace is waiting to touch and transform both our strengths and weaknesses so we may bear great fruit for his glory. Ask God to touch those areas of your life which are your strong points and be amazed at what God will do through you – so much more than you can ask or imagine.

Seated in heavenly places

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus Ephesians 2: 4 – 6.

I always wondered how we could be living here on the earth but at the same time be seated in the heavenly realms with Christ. It just didn’t make sense. If we look at the preceding verses of chapter 2 it says that we were all dead in our sins, cravings and lusts with no hope of release till God came along and because of his great love, he rescued us.  It was the work of grace; there was nothing we could do to help ourselves or gain any measure of favour with God.

Yet God feels so mercifully towards us that he was prepared to take us sinners, dead in our sins and make us alive in Christ Jesus. We literally have new life, now and forever.  This though is where the puzzling verses come in. Not only have we been made alive and resurrected from death to life but we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. The last few verses of chapter 1 explain that when Jesus was raised from the dead by the awesome power of God, every power, ruler and authority now and in the future was put under his feet.  He has complete authority over every principality and power and he is seated in the heavenly realms exercising that authority.

God has placed our spirits next to Christ in that place of authority. Our bodies may be busy going about our daily lives on earth but our spirits are seated, not anxious, fretting and worrying but at peace and rest knowing they are seated next to the one who has all authority in heaven and on earth. This means we have access to that same authority over every situation in our lives; sickness, poverty, insufficiency, oppression, unemployment, family worries and everything we have need of  is gained because we are sitting next to Jesus.

If you are feeling anxious and worried about life, let the truth that whilst you may be here on earth, your spirit is seated and at rest next to the one who has all authority over everything, now and in the future. His love is for you, his grace has paid the price and lifted you from death to life and now the authority of Jesus over every situation and circumstance is just a whisper away. Lean close to him and hear his loving voice and trust him to bring hope, peace and rest to you right now.

 

Our future inheritance

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.  Ephesians 1: 13 – 14

These are more wonderful verses from Ephesians chapter 1 which are worth a longer look.  I was surprised how often Paul spoke in his letters about the Holy Spirit being a seal, a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. I quickly found 3 other references using almost exactly the same.  This is an important truth that Paul wanted the early church to hear. 

Paul assures us that having believed in the word of truth, our salvation, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit. The seal denotes ownership not in a slave and master way but in a loving Lord looking after his own.   The Holy Spirit was also given us a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. Now we know that an inheritance is something we receive when someone dies and it is usually something very nice. When my father died I received an inheritance from him which was certainly a great blessing.  

A deposit is a down pavement on something so the Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. So what is our inheritance that we have received down payment for? The Bible refers to it as the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 25:34) or kingdom of God (James 2:5) or kingdom of light (Colossians 1: 12).   When we are born again we are able to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3) and we have in some measure access to the kingdom but because of our fallen world it is only a measure.

When we die, we inherit full access to the kingdom and full rights as co-heirs with Christ of that kingdom (Romans 8: 17).  What is more our bodies will be transformed, glorified so we are completely like Jesus (Philippians 3: 21). That is some inheritance!! 

Now that is probably enough theology for one day as I am struggling to get my head around these wonderful promises. However I know that as we let these truths of our future inheritance sink into our spirits; truths that Paul was so keen to try and help the early church understand, it will transform the way we think about life here and now. The more we realise what a wonderful future we have both in this life and the next, the more it will stop us living just for now. It should help us build for a glorious tomorrow while at the same time making the most of every moment and opportunity today.  

Adopted into the family

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1: 3 – 6

These first few verses of Ephesians are just so rich and give us a wonderful insight into all that God has done to redeem his loved ones and make them his own.  Every sentence is full of wonderful promises; he has blessed us, chosen us to be holy and blameless, he has predestined us, adopted us to sonship because he loves us and this is his pleasure and will. It has all been freely given to us through Jesus.

God has taken people living in the gutter of sin, often completely unaware of their real plight and the desperateness of their situation and lifted them out to become his sons and daughters and be adopted into his family. Jesus was God’s son by nature but we are God’s children by adoption. Nevertheless we still have all the privileges of natural sons and daughters of God as well as full inheritance rights.

Adopted children are not second best – they have been adopted so that those who had no choice or chance before could now be treated just as if they were natural sons and daughters and born into the family. In the natural that is marvellous enough. I am sure we all know of children who have been born with little or no chance in life, who have been adopted into families where they have been treated just as if they had been born into that family. They have been given a chance they could do nothing to earn or deserve. It is even more wonderful in the spiritual realm.

We were dead in our sins, destined for a life in eternity separated from God forever and with no hope of being able to do anything about it ourselves. We may have even not been aware of our situation but God, because of his rich love for us, did all that was necessary to rescue us. What a wonderful God!  He took us and made us his own with all that implies. All those spiritual blessings are ours. 

Perhaps we need to start to realise just how much God loves us. This was a marvellous, carefully thought out plan.  God knew all about us but he did not reject us, instead he predestined us which means he had a destiny for us before we were even on the scene to love us, save us and bring us into his family. The cost for God was high – very high – because it cost him the life of his natural son, Jesus, on the cross. I do not think any of us really have any idea what Jesus had to go through to gain our redemption. However I am just so thankful that he did so that today I know I am part of God’s family – holy, loved, righteous and all given not because of anything I had to offer but through his glorious grace which he has freely given us.

Words just cannot express our thanksgiving but we are surely oh so grateful.

Every spiritual blessing is ours in Christ Jesus

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1: 3 – 6

What a wonderful declaration these verses are. God our Father has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing. Just stop and consider for a moment what that means. Everything that God has can be yours. All the resources of heaven are freely available to the believing Christian through faith and what is more God wants to use us to bless the world.

The way we access these wonderful blessings is by faith. Faith is the hand that reaches into the heavenly realms and lays hold of the blessings of God for ourselves and others. Faith says ‘God is good’ and then acts on it. Faith refuses to believe that God sends bad things.

It can take perseverance to access his provision but sometimes our persistent asking is hiding a lack of faith. We go on asking yet never receive because we do not really believe we can have what we are asking God for.  How sad when Christians doubt if God wants to heal them or provide for them or when past disappointments, apparent lack of answers to their prayers or a sense of unworthiness hinders them. However instead we must let the word of God decide our actions and not our previous experiences which means we must persevere even when there is no evidence, believing our prayers are making a difference.

There must come a time when we unequivocally settle in our hearts that God wants to bless us.  Too often Christians are just not sure of God’s love for them but it is not to do with who we are but who he is. His very nature is to bless and to give freely; that is the God who has called us into his family. We don’t deserve anything but instead his grace which he has freely given us (verse 6) blesses us with all we could ever need or desire. However he also wants to use us to bless others.  If there are those around us who need God’s love, healing, deliverance, protection, peace, provision, guidance or anything else, we can be the ones to open the doors of heaven into their lives so they can know that God really does love them.

It is so good to offer to pray for people and with faith filled prayers, confident in our wonderful Father, we can see him bless the lives of others. Faith opens the doors of heaven so we can reach in and take hold of God’s blessings for ourselves but so much more we can connect others with God’s abundant provision.

 

Living in the joy of God's truth

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1: 3 – 6

There are times when words are just not enough to explain the wonder of the things that God has done for us.  These amazing verses which Paul wrote to the Ephesians just cannot really do justice to the enormity of God’s incredible love for us. We need the wonderful revelation from God’s Holy Spirit to bring these words of God’s love to life.

Too often we get through life believing all sorts of things about God and ourselves that are just not true and these lies consistently rob us of the joy that God wants us to live in. Too often when things go wrong or God does not seem as close as he did on another occasion, our first thought can be that we have done something wrong and God is cross with us or something else that is just not true.  We then spend far too much time apologising, repenting and feeling sorry for ourselves but instead II Corinthians 10: 5 tells us to ‘take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ’. We must capture these lies and force them into obedience to Christ. God wants us to live in the joy of the truth and not in the doubt and insecurity of lies and ungodly beliefs.

The truth is that God loves us so much that before the creation of the world he chose us. Yes he chose you – stop and consider that truth for a minute. Why did he choose us? Well it certainly wasn’t because of the wonderful people we were or anything we had or could do but because he loves us. He knows all about us and yet he loves us. Even if we get things wrong he still isn’t cross with us as we may be with our children. He doesn’t deal with us that way. Instead he takes us gently by the hand and asks us to look in the mirror and see the sin. All we have to do is repent and ask God’s forgiveness and the wonderful relationship between us and God that he chose us for is restored. Do not believe the lies; he disciplines those he loves (Proverbs 3: 12) in order to renew and strengthen our close personal relationship with him.

My prayer is that God will increasingly reveal to each one of us just how much God loves us and that these words of life will become so real to us that the truth will shine like a beacon of hope completely eclipsing the lies of the enemy that he has sown in our hearts. May the truth cause the lies to wither and die and be a source of increasing encouragement and joy on the path of life.

Psalm 13

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? Psalm 13: 1 - 2

It is one of the hard facts of the Christian faith that it is the difficult times that produce the greatest fruit in our lives, if we make the most of them. That of course is the dilemma because it is the hard times that are most difficult to make anything out of.  All of our good intentions fly out of the window and every truth that we believe about God and our lives as Christians is tested to the limit in our trials.

A year ago our youngest son, who had been living in America for a year, was getting ready to be married to a very nice American girl in USA and two weeks before the event everything went wrong.  Our daughter in law was having great difficulty getting a British visa and to add to the difficulty the dog chewed her passport making it unacceptable to be used at all. The delay caused by getting a new passport meant she would have no passport to go with on honeymoon. They had spent a lot of money on the honeymoon, applying for a visa and now she needed a new passport as well.

In addition to all this, Hurricane Irene blew up the north east coast on USA wrecking the park they were going to use for the picnic that they had planned for their reception. They had no visa, no passport and it looked like no reception venue and no honeymoon. Everything was awful – it was no one’s fault but why had God allowed it? They were two lovely Christian young people who had been faithful to God and now on the biggest day of their life so far everything had gone pear shaped. Why hadn’t God intervened?  It just wasn’t fair!

They were upset and all parents on both sides of the Atlantic were upset and personally I found it very hard talking to a devastated son who was thousands of miles away. I felt really down and moaned and moaned to God. My attitude was not good but at least I was talking to the only person who could actually do anything about the situation. Two days later I felt so low and quite ‘by chance’ I listened to a song called Psalm 13 by one of the Vineyard bands. The lyrics touched me deeply as they spoke right into the situation. I read the psalm and the last two verses were ‘But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord’s praise, for he has been good to me’ Psalm 13: 5 – 6. The light bulbs came on and with no evidence to support it I declared that I will trust in God’s unfailing love – why?  Because the Lord has been good to me.

I may have been squeezed till I almost screamed but I could never deny that God had been good to me so I could trust him despite all the evidence to the contrary. I knew all would be well. On the other side of the Atlantic my son’s future mother-in-law was urging them to trust God. Within a week all the situations had been turned around; the sun shone on the wedding day, another reception venue had been found for the picnic, our daughter in law got two passports – one for the honeymoon and one for the visa - and two days after the wedding her British visa was granted.

God is good and utterly reliable and trustworthy despite the circumstances and we will never discover this for ourselves till we have had this truth tested in the fires of adversity. I now KNOW I can rely on God because he has been good to me and even in the midst of difficulties God is still good to me and all his children.

Do not fear the fires of afflictions but ask God to help you walk through them with integrity and honesty, praising and worshipping our Creator who is good and wonderful no matter how hard the road we are walking on. You will bear increasing fruit as you trust him because you will know for yourself the truth of God’s goodness and faithfulness even in the midst of adversity. Cross references:

1. Psalm 13:1 : Ps 6:3
2. Psalm 13:1 : Ps 42:9; La 5:20
3. Psalm 13:1 : S Dt 31:17; S Ps 22:24; S Isa 8:17; S 54:9
4. Psalm 13:2 : Ps 42:4; 55:2; 139:23; Isa 33:18; Da 7:28
5. Psalm 13:2 : Ps 94:3
6. Psalm 13:3 : Ps 9:12; 25:18; 31:7; 35:23; 59:4; 80:14; 107:41; 119:50, 153
7. Psalm 13:3 : S Ps 4:1
8. Psalm 13:3 : S Ezr 9:8
9. Psalm 13:3 : Ps 76:5; 90:5; Jer 51:39
10. Psalm 13:4 : S 1Ki 19:2; Ps 25:2
11. Psalm 13:4 : Ps 38:16; 118:13
12. Psalm 13:5 : S Ps 6:4
13. Psalm 13:5 : S Job 33:26; Ps 9:14; Isa 25:9; 33:2
14. Psalm 13:6 : S Ex 15:1; Ps 7:17